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I've been getting conflicting advice on setting up suspension for air borne antics.
Everyone says put a bit more air in. But no real guidance on how much more.
Some people slow down the rebound so I'm not pinged up off the jump lip.
Then I met someone who insisted the rebound should be as fast as possible - to ping you up. I wasn't convinced as this sounds like it's compensating for too soft a fork or shock. But having tried it now, it did seem to work.
Does anyone have a proper method to set the fork and or shock up for air?
A lot of people if they have a 3 setting rear will stick in middle/trail position.
Is this on a bike that will only be used for jumping?
I've just been through a pretty long setup process on mine - not for jumps specifically but I want to be able to jump on it.
Unless you are going big regularly, there is a lot to be said for just setting up your bike to be consistent and predicable on everything you ride. Get it set up right and it will feel right on jumps too. Personally I found running slower rebound compensated for my poor technique. Now I'm improving technique I'm not intentionally slowing it down.
A lot of people if they have a 3 setting rear will stick in middle/trail position.
Yea, this is pretty much my only change when I'm on my local groomed trailed.
You put more air in to reduce blowing through your travel and bottoming out, this would then mean you need to change your rebound to adjust for the additional pressures, reality is you just need to go and do a few practice runs and fiddle, is it blowing through the travel, add 10psi, is it still doing it, add 10 more, now it's working is it settling after you've landed appropriately, if it's still bouncing too much, reduce rebound, if it's too slow, increase it.
If you're hitting big stuff then you need to have settings for that, i.e. not the off the kerb jump or small jump if you're hitting big stuff, it's just finding a place to session and set up your bike on.
The rebound you require is directly related to the spring force it's controlling. If you use the same spring rate, stick with the same rebound.
If you're landing hard and want to deal with that extra energy, increase compression damping.
I put a couple if turns of low speed compression on the fork to stop me collapsing into the bike on the compression of the lip, and I run my shock on firm mode so it doesn't kick me otb. Try to have the rebound as fast as I dare with back being just a bit slower. I can swap easily between jumps and trails like this, I just leave the air pressure/sag alone now I'm happy with it.
Then I met someone who insisted the rebound should be as fast as possible – to ping you up.
This person is an idiot.
Are you planning to ride jump trails and bike parks? Then I might up the pressure and click the rebound on a tiny bit.
For normal riding with a handful of jumps and drops, nothing. Just ride it.
I’d hope that everyone agrees that the rebound on the fork should be no slower than the rebound on the shock, and often a bit faster.
And other than that, I think it comes down to how you ride, how big you go, how friendly the landings are and how rough the trails are. Predictability is the key.
Hmmm, quite a mixed bag there!
I tried trail settings but it was terrible. Way too soft going up the ramp. And did some jumps and drops training last year and was told to put a bit more air than trail settings when doing dirt jumps. That definitely made an improvement.
The guy with full speed rebound was very good at jumping. So while he might not know suspension it wasn't holding him back.
Are there any suspension set up courses out there? While I do like making adjustments to see what works where, I rarely ride the same bike back to back.
I never change my settings. Jumping is easier on a fully rigid bike than a full suss as you don't get the sMe return for your pop as suspension absorbs some of it.
Jumping is not about rebound suspension settings
I'm only just getting back into proper jumps and stuff so ymmv, but I've got my suspension pumped up to around 20% sag both ends and may add some tokens on the rear. Feels better than the recommended 30% sag which felt too wallowy to me and like I was getting all my pop sucked out from the suspension, I really have to pump hard to get my bike to pop. My rebound is set on the slower side since I tried it faster and almost got bucked off a few times.
Don't forget about tyre pressure whilst you're at it.
Tyre pressures also make a big difference, some dirt jumpers have their tyres very hard, over 50psi.
The biggest thing with tyre pressure is to have enough not to be rolling the tyre on a big compression. Most people are already doing that, I ride hard and find I need at least 20 psi in a 2.4 rear tyre to stop it moving around (80kg), but run lower for general trail.
The only suspension change id make is to up the low speed compression, ie whack the rear shock in pedal mode. Supports you a bit better as you push into the jump
Most people definitely aren't running enough pressure to avoid rolling on a take off, 20 psi dlwould certainly be far from adequate.
On my dj I'm 70/80, for the likes of dirt farm it'll be atleast 35.
I leave my suspension as it is for trail (sounds like the OP runs very soft if it is that wallow-y), but if I'm going to a bike park like windhill I'll up my tyre pressure to 30F 32R rather than the 24F 26R I run most of the time. DJ bike is at 60 odd, but that is mainly for pump and bmx tracks rather than proper DJ trails, which I don't really ride.
Get or hire a shock whiz. You can specify what you’re wanting out of the setup. Set it up neutral for normal riding.
Then set it up with “pop” (I think that’s the term they use). Write down your settings and you can adjust between them.
Saw recently a bike which had setting painted on the inside of the fork air cap.
enough pressure to avoid rolling on a take off, 20 psi dlwould certainly be far from adequate.
I've never rolled a tyre at 20psi (I have at around 15) - imo higher pressures are simply about rolling resistance which can be important to get over a set of dirt jumps (and on my DJ bike I'm running over 40) - but isn't often relevent for faster DH jumps
How much do you weigh? If I was running 15psi I’d be sitting on my rims.
also how big and strong are your tyres. One of my bikes runs 2.2 lightweight tyres - they need at least 25 psi in them
another bike has 2.6 on wide rims - 12 - 15psi gives the same feel
How much do you weigh? If I was running 15psi I’d be sitting on my rims.
82kg, 2.4" dual ply tyres on my DH bike. I normally ride them around 20psi, but occasionally have gone for a ride when its been in the garage for a while without checking the pressures, checked them after the ride and its <15. Gives a lovely plush ride, but a bit unpredictable through compressions
there is a lot to be said for just setting up your bike to be consistent and predicable on everything you ride.
[humblebrag] I rented a bike from Evolution last time I was at Whistler, they were off the opinion that unless you're doing mad stunts, then an overall consistent set up works better for most folks. [/humblebrag]